A Saudi delegation, which included a number of officials from the ministries of health and finance, reviewed the efforts made by the Kingdom in managing the COVID-19 pandemic at the local and international levels. This includes its generous support for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator during its presidency of the G20 with an amount of $500 million, including support for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as other international and regional health organizations and programs, to ensure that there is an adequate supply of protective equipment for health workers. As part of these efforts, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has allocated more than $333 million in aid to several countries.
This came during the delegation's participation in the Global Epidemic Preparedness Summit, which was held last Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 in London. The summit was organized by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in the UK, in the presence of representatives from governments, international organizations, and academia, in addition to a number of charities and civil society.
The Kingdom’s delegation included the Deputy Minister of Health for Public Health, Dr. Hani bin Abdulaziz Jokhdar, and the Deputy Minister of Finance for International Relations, Dr. Riyadh bin Mohammad Al-Khorayef. The delegation also met with the Director-General of the WHO and a number of heads of international alliances responsible for manufacturing and providing vaccines and representatives from donor countries. During these meetings, topics of common interest in epidemic control, as well as the equitable distribution of vaccines, were discussed.
It is noteworthy that the Global Epidemic Preparedness Summit aims to better prepare for epidemics in the future, through integration and cooperation with the international community.